Epidermis News and Research

The epidermis is the thin, outer layer of the skin that is visible to the eye and works to provide protection to the body. It does not contain any blood vessels and is, therefore, dependent on the dermis, the layer of the skin underneath it, to provide access to nutrients and dispose of waste.

Further Reading

A boosting skin vaccination with a biodegradable microneedle patch and protein constructed from sequences of influenza virus subtypes could improve the effectiveness of conventional influenza vaccines, according to a study led by Georgia State University.

Type XVII collagen (COL17) is found to regulate the proliferation of epidermal cells and therefore the thickness of juvenile and aged skin, suggesting COL17 can potentially be used for future anti-aging strategies.

Current view is that cancer development is initiated from cells that acquire initial DNA mutations. These in turn provoke additional defects, and ultimately the affected cells begin to proliferate in an uncontrolled manner to develop primary tumors.

Scientists have uncovered evidence that a deficiency in the skin's barrier is key to triggering eczema. The team at Newcastle University, in collaboration with scientists at Stiefel, a GSK company, have identified how a key skin barrier protein called filaggrin impacts on other proteins and pathways in the skin, which in turn drive the development of eczema.

Healthy human skin is alive with bacteria. In fact, there are more microorganisms living in and on the human body than there are human cells. Most can live on the human skin without harming the host, but in some people bacteria can negatively alter their health, maybe even become life-threatening.

In a study to be presented Saturday, Jan. 28, in the oral concurrent session at 8:45 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; IBEX, Logan, Utah; and Laser Tissue Welding Inc., Houston, Texas collaborated on a study titled, Evaluation of the effects of laser tissue welding on the spinal cord and skin in a 30 day study of simulated spina bifida repair in rabbits.

PKvitality, an advanced bio-wearable company has today unveiled K’Track, a line of next generation trackers with the ability to analyze key physiological markers by simply “tasting” the skin rather than analyzing blood samples.

A dermatoscope, typically used to provide magnified images for identifying skin lesions, is also useful for quickly diagnosing the causes of breastfeeding pain, according to researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Detection of malignant skin alterations is currently aided by optical microscopes such as dermoscopes or optical microscopes. While the latter offers high resolution, it comes with a major disadvantage, just like any other purely microscopic method: it only provides a partial view of the skin due to the low penetration depth.

A type of targeted therapy that has shown promising results treating advanced melanoma could also be used to help speed up how the skin repairs itself from injury, UCLA researchers have found, providing a potential new way to accelerate healing of acute and chronic wounds.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland have created a microneedle drug monitoring system that could one day replace costly, invasive blood draws and improve patient comfort.

Scientists have identified for the first time the 'cell of origin' - in other words, the first cell from which the cancer grows - in basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, and followed the chain of events that lead to the growth of these invasive tumours.

Toxic arsenic initially accumulates in the nuclei of plants' cells. This has been revealed by an X-ray examination of the aquatic plant rigid hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) using DESY's X-ray source PETRA III.

There is much research that shows that therapy dogs can help reduce stress and improve emotional well-being in vulnerable individuals. Rachel McPherson talks about this research that the work done by The Good Dog Foundation.

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